On 14th April 2010, CCDR-Algarve threw out the application by Cavalum sgps to install a wind farm only 340m from existing properties in Água de Tábuas, Sta. Catarina, Tavira. The Algarve regional environmental agency listed an embarrassingly long list of reasons why the project submitted by Cavalum sgps was unacceptably, including;
- proximity to existing residences;
- deterrent to future development of 30 ruins within 500m of the project;
- probable pollution of surface and underground water supplies during the construction phase;
- totally unrealistic socio-economic claims by the 3 named psychologists on the project team regarding benefits;
- omission of all negative socio-economic impacts by the 3 named psychologists on the project team;
- probability of breaking existing/future noise regulations;
- destruction of the quality of life of existing residents;
- inadequate evaluation of threats to flora and fauna, including nationally and internationally protected species(one day site visit during a stormy day in January 2009);
- despoilment of an area of outstanding natural beauty by installing an 80m high tower with 95m circumference moving blades only 40m from the Tábuas geodesic marker;
- Failure to discuss mitigating actions with residents as recommended by the DGEG;
- Failure to consider alternative sites, as required by the Tavira PDM.
- Failure to specify how to connect the wind park to the national electricity network, and therefore no assessment of its environmental impact;
- Strength of opposition by the public, the local council and environmental agencies, including a petition signed by almost 200 people living in the area.
Despite this overwhelming opposition, Cavalum sgps lodged a written objection which was also unsurprisingly dismissed.
This decision comes almost 18 months after Cavalum employees and their consultants snooped around the village with maps, secretly making their plans for the site, and running away whenever approached by residents. What a massive waste of time and money for the shareholders of the privately held company, Cavalum sgps, the regional development agency CCDR-Algarve, Portuguese taxpayers and the poor local residents of Água de Tábuas.
Monday 26 April 2010
Sunday 21 February 2010
WIND FARM PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD OPEN
Everyone is encouraged to send letters of objection about the Agua de Tabuas wind farm to CCDR in Faro by March 3, 2010.
Please hand deliver or registered mail to:
Presidente Dr. Joao Varejao Faria
CCDR Algarve
Praca da Liberdade 2
8000-164 Faro
Also, please sign the petition (with your fiscal or passport number) in the Santa Catarina Post Office.
After March 3rd, the CCDR Algarve will make a decision.
Please hand deliver or registered mail to:
Presidente Dr. Joao Varejao Faria
CCDR Algarve
Praca da Liberdade 2
8000-164 Faro
Also, please sign the petition (with your fiscal or passport number) in the Santa Catarina Post Office.
After March 3rd, the CCDR Algarve will make a decision.
Wednesday 25 November 2009
REN decision made, TVI interview residents
The TV station TVI has interviewed some residents and has scheduled to meet us again on Thursday 26th at mid day at the Taberna Orroio on the right side just over the first bridge on the way from Santa Catarina to Sao Bras. Residents concerned about the pylons, wind turbines or quarry are encouraged to come along.
REN’s decision on the HT cable route has been made. The promised public consultation for August 2009 never happened. Work is scheduled to begin soon. The ugly lines will scar this area forever.
Our efforts now must move to the proposed wind farm. Even the latest Wind turbines generate an enormous amount of noise, much like that of a huge shuddering washing machine. In quiet, open environments like ours, the noise can be heard from a distance of several kilometers. As the turbine blades turn, they block the sun, creating what is known as the flicker effect.
The noise and flicker have now been proven to cause a significant health problem known as WIND TURBINE SYNDROME. Visit www.windturbinesyndrome.com for details of this issue.
Following legal advice, residents in the areas that will be impacted by the turbines are undergoing health checks and having house valuations prior to the installation. We will hold the company that is installing these turbines as well as Tavira Camara responsible for any negative impact on our health and on the value of our properties.
We have suggested several viable alternative locations for these turbines that are far away from any homes. Why are our suggestions being ignored?
REN’s decision on the HT cable route has been made. The promised public consultation for August 2009 never happened. Work is scheduled to begin soon. The ugly lines will scar this area forever.
Our efforts now must move to the proposed wind farm. Even the latest Wind turbines generate an enormous amount of noise, much like that of a huge shuddering washing machine. In quiet, open environments like ours, the noise can be heard from a distance of several kilometers. As the turbine blades turn, they block the sun, creating what is known as the flicker effect.
The noise and flicker have now been proven to cause a significant health problem known as WIND TURBINE SYNDROME. Visit www.windturbinesyndrome.com for details of this issue.
Following legal advice, residents in the areas that will be impacted by the turbines are undergoing health checks and having house valuations prior to the installation. We will hold the company that is installing these turbines as well as Tavira Camara responsible for any negative impact on our health and on the value of our properties.
We have suggested several viable alternative locations for these turbines that are far away from any homes. Why are our suggestions being ignored?
Friday 21 August 2009
REN and the Authorities – the plot thickens
July has come and gone, and despite REN’s assurances, as well as those of the Ministry of the Environment (see our entry of May 26), there has been NO notification about a public consultation. Also, our more recent letters to REN have not been answered.
New information has emerged which reinforces our suspicions that REN’s plans were never open to debate. We have recently learned that a new tarmac road will be built to link two remote villages currently connected by a dirt track, which has always been sufficient for these small communities. The road will parallel the new high tension cable system, enabling easy access for the building and maintenance of the pylons and wires. The cost to taxpayers will be one and a half million Euros!
Sadly, it seems that the efforts of those who are fighting to keep this area free of landscape blight may be overcome by a web of political and corporate greed.
Please let us know if you have any suggestions to help our cause. Email us at matanews@gmail.com
New information has emerged which reinforces our suspicions that REN’s plans were never open to debate. We have recently learned that a new tarmac road will be built to link two remote villages currently connected by a dirt track, which has always been sufficient for these small communities. The road will parallel the new high tension cable system, enabling easy access for the building and maintenance of the pylons and wires. The cost to taxpayers will be one and a half million Euros!
Sadly, it seems that the efforts of those who are fighting to keep this area free of landscape blight may be overcome by a web of political and corporate greed.
Please let us know if you have any suggestions to help our cause. Email us at matanews@gmail.com
Tuesday 16 June 2009
SITE VISIT BY FILIPE GONÇALVES, CAVALUM CONSULTANT ON 12TH JUNE 2009
Filipe Gonçalves, the consultant working for Cavalum, the company which is planning to install the wind-farm in Água de Tábuas, came to see me on Friday, 12th June. He was taking advantage of the holiday weekend to take a break with his family in Tavira, and volunteered to come up to the hills for a chat and to see the alternative sites we had identified.
He spent about 3 hours with me, during which time we visited:
- the alternative site near Umbria (references below);
- the alternative site near Alcaria do Cume (where another wind measurement mast has been installed for some time – reference below);
- Bob & Alex’s house for a chat and to see the view from their house;
- Jurek and Nadia’s house for a chat and to see the view from their house.
I also gave him grid references for a third site north of São Bras, near Cove do Muda.
Points arising:
1. I told him that this year had been windier than normal, and it concerned him that he might be taking readings during an untypical year.
2. He will pass on the grid references for all the alternative sites to the University team who do the wind modeling for him, and they will be able to extrapolate probable wind values from the readings taken at A de T. He will provide us with a copy of the analysis.
3. He will try to find out who installed the wind measurement mast near Alcaria do Cume, and if possible, exchange wind measurement data with the people involved. He believes the mast is installed very near the boundary with River Guadiana natural park.
4. My letter to the CEO of Cavalum had got through and there would be a reply. However, the reference to the previous involvement of a UK barrister had almost caused them to clam up and deal only through their solicitor.
5. He had not heard the “Wind-farm kills goats” story, but thought it odd, and he wasn’t worried about any affect on aircraft radar systems as his proposed site had already been signed off by the airport authority.
6. He accepts that the wind-farm will impact the view from M de J but doesn’t think anyone living there has a real cause for complaint, and he says M de J residents will definitely not hear any noise.
7. He does now accept that there will be a significant visual impact on Jurek and Nadia’s house, and also now appreciates that there are ruins closer to his turbines than he was aware of.
8. Despite his protestations that we, as the closest residents in A de T, will hear no noise, he says that if he does decide to install them here, he will work closely with the manufacturers to ensure they get the quietest machines possible. Also, should there subsequently be any problems, he would work on our side to resolve them.
9. Stories on the internet about wind turbine noise are stories about older machines installed some years ago; new machines have a different blade tip design which doesn’t make the same noise. You can hear no noise from the machinery unless you are standing underneath.
10. He reaffirmed his strong belief that there will be no more tenders offered by the government for wind turbine plants in Tavira district for at least 4 years, so no-one in M de J need be concerned that they will be surrounded by wind turbines. The original plan for 18 or 19 units was a speculative endeavor, put forward by a company under the old way of doing business. These days, the government takes the first initiative.
11. He says he will tell us if and when the Environmental Impact Study is underway so we can contribute.
12. He is back in the area in 2 weeks time "for a meeting with landowners" and will pop-in to see if there are any other issues for discussion.
He spent about 3 hours with me, during which time we visited:
- the alternative site near Umbria (references below);
- the alternative site near Alcaria do Cume (where another wind measurement mast has been installed for some time – reference below);
- Bob & Alex’s house for a chat and to see the view from their house;
- Jurek and Nadia’s house for a chat and to see the view from their house.
I also gave him grid references for a third site north of São Bras, near Cove do Muda.
Points arising:
1. I told him that this year had been windier than normal, and it concerned him that he might be taking readings during an untypical year.
2. He will pass on the grid references for all the alternative sites to the University team who do the wind modeling for him, and they will be able to extrapolate probable wind values from the readings taken at A de T. He will provide us with a copy of the analysis.
3. He will try to find out who installed the wind measurement mast near Alcaria do Cume, and if possible, exchange wind measurement data with the people involved. He believes the mast is installed very near the boundary with River Guadiana natural park.
4. My letter to the CEO of Cavalum had got through and there would be a reply. However, the reference to the previous involvement of a UK barrister had almost caused them to clam up and deal only through their solicitor.
5. He had not heard the “Wind-farm kills goats” story, but thought it odd, and he wasn’t worried about any affect on aircraft radar systems as his proposed site had already been signed off by the airport authority.
6. He accepts that the wind-farm will impact the view from M de J but doesn’t think anyone living there has a real cause for complaint, and he says M de J residents will definitely not hear any noise.
7. He does now accept that there will be a significant visual impact on Jurek and Nadia’s house, and also now appreciates that there are ruins closer to his turbines than he was aware of.
8. Despite his protestations that we, as the closest residents in A de T, will hear no noise, he says that if he does decide to install them here, he will work closely with the manufacturers to ensure they get the quietest machines possible. Also, should there subsequently be any problems, he would work on our side to resolve them.
9. Stories on the internet about wind turbine noise are stories about older machines installed some years ago; new machines have a different blade tip design which doesn’t make the same noise. You can hear no noise from the machinery unless you are standing underneath.
10. He reaffirmed his strong belief that there will be no more tenders offered by the government for wind turbine plants in Tavira district for at least 4 years, so no-one in M de J need be concerned that they will be surrounded by wind turbines. The original plan for 18 or 19 units was a speculative endeavor, put forward by a company under the old way of doing business. These days, the government takes the first initiative.
11. He says he will tell us if and when the Environmental Impact Study is underway so we can contribute.
12. He is back in the area in 2 weeks time "for a meeting with landowners" and will pop-in to see if there are any other issues for discussion.
Tuesday 26 May 2009
REN to seek further public comment
We have recently learned from REN that they are planning a new public consultation period, to be concluded in July. This will be our final chance to challenge REN on their decision to site these high tension cables and pylons in one of the most beautiful scenic areas of the Algarve.
In their correspondence with us, REN has claimed that their aim is to minimize the visual intrusion and impact on the quality of life of the residential population close to the corridor where the pylons will be placed. Yet their decision is directly contrary to these considerations.
We have also received a written commitment from the Ministry of the Environment that they will notify us when the next public meeting will be taking place. However, please look out for this information in your local Junta de Freguesia, the Tavira Camara, the press and the Diario da Republica.
In the meantime, our local and national politicians remain disinterested.
In their correspondence with us, REN has claimed that their aim is to minimize the visual intrusion and impact on the quality of life of the residential population close to the corridor where the pylons will be placed. Yet their decision is directly contrary to these considerations.
We have also received a written commitment from the Ministry of the Environment that they will notify us when the next public meeting will be taking place. However, please look out for this information in your local Junta de Freguesia, the Tavira Camara, the press and the Diario da Republica.
In the meantime, our local and national politicians remain disinterested.
Friday 1 May 2009
Press Campaign
Still no replies to the tens of letters sent to REN, Cavalum, Tavira council and the Department of the Economy, so I guess we need to follow-up and make more noise.
However some progress with the press campaign. There was another high profile article in The Algarve Resident last week http://www.algarveresident.com/story.asp?XID=31260 and a follow-up letter and additional wind-farm briefing has been sent to the journalist involved. The same issue also contained an excellent letter from the couple who spearheaded the campaign to stop the erection of a communications tower next to houses in Carvoiero. Like us, they can't understand the behaviour of local politicians.
Contact details are being collected for Portuguese media (TV, radio and newspapers) and a covering letter and briefing material has been translated in preparation.
Briefing material has also been provided to UK-based journalists working for national publications.
However some progress with the press campaign. There was another high profile article in The Algarve Resident last week http://www.algarveresident.com/story.asp?XID=31260 and a follow-up letter and additional wind-farm briefing has been sent to the journalist involved. The same issue also contained an excellent letter from the couple who spearheaded the campaign to stop the erection of a communications tower next to houses in Carvoiero. Like us, they can't understand the behaviour of local politicians.
Contact details are being collected for Portuguese media (TV, radio and newspapers) and a covering letter and briefing material has been translated in preparation.
Briefing material has also been provided to UK-based journalists working for national publications.
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